It Is Still Safe to Drink in Williamsburg

05/06/2011 | Comment

CB1’s Public Safety Committee held a very long meeting tonight, which ended with a discussion of the “moratorium” (apparently it started with that too, but I missed the opening hour). CB1 Chairman Chris Olechowski presented some recommendations from the Board’s Executive Committee that were based on guidelines used by CB3 in Manhattan. They were, for the most part, pretty common sensical – using the 500′ rule more, not approving rear yard uses in residential districts, limiting approvals on residential streets. It’s not clear how those rules would fit into the reality of CB1, but the Committee agreed that they were worth further study.

And so, no moratorium (this month).

Bikers, Drivers Clash Over Bedford Avenue

05/05/2011 | Comment

Drivers in South Williamsburg are apparently harassing and in some cases physically (and vehicularly) assaulting bicyclists. Of course no one could have predicted that when the DOT removed the bike lanes on Bedford Avenue that it would lead to a sense of entitlement to the road on the part of local drivers.

As I said when the bike lanes were originally removed, a lot of the controversy over the lanes was about the very mundane issue of parking. Baruch Herzfeld backs up this notion:

Williamsburg bike maven Baruch Herzfeld, who hosted a debate between bikers and Hasidim last January, says the tension has resulted from the lack of parking spaces in South Williamsburg and not a conflict between Orthodox residents and yuppie cyclists.

“The Hasidim park in the [former] bike lane because there is no other place to park and the city has limited resources to enforce it,” said Herzfeld.

Of course local political leaders have a solution:

Hasidic leaders say that cyclists should find another route.

“You have a densely populated area that hundreds of people cross those streets every single day,” said former Council candidate Isaac Abraham. “You’ve got a ballroom, two schools and five synagogues. Traffic there is tremendous.”

It sounds to me as though these leaders need a refresher course in driver’s ed. It’s pretty simple really – riding a bicycle on a public street is legal, bike lane or not. Double parking is not legal. Kicking bicyclists, running them off the road with your minivan or school bus and otherwise intimidating or harassing fellow citizens is very illegal. Sounds to me as though the NYPD needs redirect some of its efforts to parking and traffic enforcement on Bedford Avenue.

Visualizing Transit Data

Via Second Avenue Sagas, a visually compelling look at NYC transit statistics, complete with comparisons to systems in other cities (we stack up pretty well until you get to on-time performance).

Williamsburg Community Board Approves Parks Concert Series

05/04/2011 | Comment

The waterfront concerts were not the only concert series on the agenda of last nights CB1 Parks Committee meeting. I hear that at the end of the meeting the committee recommended that the full board support the L Magazine’s Northside Festival concerts in McCarren Park (I think on the asphalt baseball fields across from the Turkey’s Nest). The concerts (which will, in part, benefit OSA, and which will have a capacity of 5,000, but I guess the similarities end there) include Beirut on June 17th and the Wavves opening for Guided by Voices on the 18th.

(The rest of the Northside Fesitival lineup feature The Hold Steady, Titus, the Fiery Furnaces and a whole bunch more in a series of venues spread around the neighborhood.

The Day the Music Was Turned Down (But Not Really)

05/04/2011 | 2 Comments

Apparently last night’s CB1 Parks Committee was a bit of a doozy (Aaron Short went so I didn’t have to!). In an advisory vote, the committee recommended that the number of concerts be cut by a third and that attendance at each concert be cut by about 25% (from 6,500 to 5,000 people). Since the Open Space Alliance has already booked 15 shows for the summer, and since the concerts are held on State park land (which the local CB1 has no jurisdiction over), this vote won’t change anything. It may be a symbolic gesture, but it’s pretty clear that some people are not too happy with the concerts or with OSA.

For Williamsburg Renters, Look But Don’t Swim

Renters in the affordable housing components of the Edge and Northside Piers pay rents well below market rates (some as low as $398 per month, according to the Times). But they don’t have access to the amenities on the luxury side of the development.

More on Hope

04/29/2011 | Comment

Rami Metal, Councilman Steve Levin’s Williamsburg & Greenpoint rep, posted the following to the CB1 Info mailing list:

Some of you may already be aware of this but for those who are not I am deeply saddened to say that Hope Reichbach, our communications director, died yesterday. We are unbelievably shaken and saddened by her sudden passing and are putting all our energy right now into working through this difficult time and helping her family in any way we can. The funeral is being held on Sunday at noon and the full details are below.

Needless to say we feel that we need to cancel the planned 2:30pm rally against the proposed homeless shelter at 400 McGuinness Blvd. We do not yet have a new date for the rally but will work to figure something out in the next week or so. Obviously this is very last minute and we are doing what we can to let people know about the cancellation but if folks can let their friends or neighbors know that would be helpful.

As for the funeral arrangements, the services will take place at Congregation Mount Sinai, 250 Cadman Plaza West, at noon on Sunday. All are welcome.

The Reichbach family will sit shiva Sunday following the service, Monday and Tuesday all day at 148 Bond Street, Brooklyn, NY 11217.

Donations in Hope’s name can be made to: Nicholas Naquan Heyward Jr. Memorial Foundation, Inc., 413 Baltic Street, Suite 1A, Brooklyn, NY 11217

Below is a joint statement from last night from Steve and the Speaker:

Joint Statement by Speaker Christine C. Quinn and Council Member Stephen Levin

This evening we learned of the tragic death of one of the Council’s family. A bright young woman who was at the start of a career in public service is gone too soon. Hope was a wonderful, vivacious, and tough young woman. A beautiful soul who cared deeply about her community and her family. We are deeply saddened by her passing and will miss her more than words can ever describe. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and her friends, and everyone affected by this loss. We also respectfully request that the media respect the family’s privacy at this most difficult time.

Hope Reichbach

04/29/2011 | Comment

This is sad beyond words. Hope Reichbach was found dead in her Boerum Hill apartment yesterday afternoon. She was a wonderful young woman and a positive force in her community and mine.

Gatemouth and FiPS have some very nice remembrances, as do the commenters at this Brooklyn Paper article.

My condolences to her family, friends and colleagues.

Rough Homecoming for a Washington Lawmaker

It’s nice to see some town hall chickens coming home to roost for our friends on the right.

Former President George W. Bush was one of the evening’s frequent scapegoats, prompting [Congressman Michael] Grimm, at one point, to say: “This year’s deficit is due to George Bush? That’s insanity! That’s insane.”

Yes, it is insane. True, but insane: